Jon's POV

"You understand why I did it." Father asked Bran. Poor boy looked ready to piss in his breeches. But he hid it well. They were riding back to winterfell after executing a deserter from the wall. The man swore that he saw white walkers. He kept repeating the same words "White Walkers. I saw the White Walkers. White Walkers. The White Walkers, I saw them "until the second Ice decapitated his body from the head.

Winterfell is dark, dank and dreary and Jon somehow knew the south of the wall is enjoying the last few days of summer.
"Jon said he was a deserter."
"But you understand why I had to kill him." Ned Stark asked him with a serious expression on his face.
"Our way is the old way."
"The man who passes the sentence should swing the sword."

"Is it true he saw the White Walkers?" Bran asked in a low voice.

"The White Walkers have been gone for thousands of years. Just like Dragons"
"So he was lying?" Bran sighed in relief.
"A madman sees what he sees." But Will, the night's watch deserter wasn't mad, Jon was sure of it.

It was when they saw the half-eaten deer carcass lying over the road.

Theon murmured. "Mountain lion?"

"There are no mountain lions in these woods."

"What killed him?" Robb asked.

"Let's find out." Their father said dismounting from his horse.

They followed the trail of blood until they came across a small stream. Lying on its bank was the dead remains of a wolf. No, it seemed too big to be called a wolf.

"Is that a direwolf?" Theon asked. Jon stared at him, his mouth agape. It wasn't like Theon Greyjoy say clever words. Jon sometimes thought Theon was dumber than Hodor the halfwit.

The dead wolf mother – a Direwolf had her reason of death the antler of the stag it killed stabbed through her throat. Her clueless pups, the most beautiful wolf pups Jon had ever seen were whimpering around her body in the snow.

"There are no direwolves south of the Wall." Robb pointed out.

"Now there are five." His gaze narrowed on Jon's face.

Jon picked up a pup and offers it to Bran. He kept staring back and forth between Jon and the pup.

"You want to hold it?" Jon asked at the end of his patience. It wasn't right. The boy just saw his first beheading.

" Where will they go? Their mother's dead." He asked taking the direwolf pup from his brother.

Where will they go? Their mother's dead.

"They don't belong down here." Cassel said in his know it all voice. For some reason Jon felt those word's to his heart. Yes, they did not belong down here, just like him. They belong to the north, far, far north from winterfell.

"Better a quick death. They won't last without their mother." His father didn't look like he wants to put his words in to action.

"Right. Give it here." Theon had to step in. Bloody monster.

" NO!" Bran screamed.

Robb looked disgustedly towards Theon. "Put away your blade."
"I take orders from your father, not you." Yes, that conversation again.

"Please, father!" Bran pleaded, holding his direwolf firmly against his chest.

" I'm sorry, Bran."

"Lord Stark. There are five pups. One for each of the Stark children. The Dire Wolf is the sigil of your house. They were meant to have them." Jon added.

Everyone looked at Ned Stark, Bran with great hope, Robb and Jon with expectance and Theon with indifference.

"You will train them yourselves. You will feed them yourselves. And if they die, you will bury them yourselves."

Bran cradled his pup as Jon hands more pups to Robb. But they all nodded with acceptance.
What about you? His younger brother asked Jon.

"I'm not a Stark. Get on."

Jon walked away. Before he could walk ten feet he heard something. Another whimper?

"What is it?" Robb asked.

Jon searched the bushes to see a white wolf pup, hiding under the forest growth.
"The runt of the litter. That one's yours, Snow." Just this once, Theon Greyjoy was absolutely right.

Cersei's POV

She heard bells ringing at Kings Landing. In front of the Iron Throne, surrounded by druidical looking celebrants, lied the body of Jon Arryn.

Up in the balcony, Cersei watched the scene below as her beloved brother approached her from behind.

"As your brother, I feel it's my duty to warn you: You worry too much. It's starting to show."

She wasn't happy having had to kill the old man. He helped her during the darkest part of her life.

"And you never worry about anything. When we were seven, you jumped off the cliffs as Casterly Rock. One hundred foot drop into the water. And you were never afraid."

"There was nothing to be afraid of until you told father." Jaime moved close to her. "We're Lannisters. Lannisters don't act like fools." He whispered mimicking their father's words.

"What if Jon Arryn told someone?"
"But who would he tell?' Jaime laughed.

"My husband." She no longer feared the man. But he was still the King. The fact that he was unaware of the power he wield was something else.

" If he told the king, both our heads would be skewered on the city gates by now. Whatever Jon Arryn knew or didn't know, it died with him. And Robert will choose a new Hand of the king, someone to do his job while he's off fucking boars and hunting whores. Or is it the other way around? And life will go on."

Cersei sighed."You should be the Hand of the king."

"That's an honor I can do without. Their days are too long, their lives are too short."

Jaime stared at her for a while, and was speechless. He knew how sad and lost she had been since the day they took her first child away. "We won't lose them my love, worry not."

She smiled again, and kissed him, stroking his cheek. Jaime felt moisture in his eyes, and quickly buried his face in her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." Jaime said over and over, as if it was a prayer, "I'm so sorry, Cersei. I went away from you when you needed me most before. I didn't mean to treat you like I did. I was such a stubborn fool, and I don't deserve you. How can you forgive me?"

He wanted to stay in her shoulder forever, and never pull away. But every wall in kings landing had thousand eyes and ears.

Jaime felt his twin pull his head from her shoulder, and she stared at his tear-stained face. She smiled and wiped away whatever tears remained, and kissed him again.

"But don't you see?" she said, "I already have. We are meant to be together, always together. Keep in mind, brother,everyone who isn't us is an enemy."